Fantasy Take: Canucks Sign Suter
Michael Clifford
2023-08-11
The depth of the Vancouver Canucks forward group has undergone a lot of changes over the last two years, and those changes continued on Friday. With the free agency class dwindling, the team signed centre Pius Suter to a two-year contract, carrying an average annual value of $1.6M:
Suter had 60 points in 161 games with the Detroit Red Wings and will look to bolster the centre position for the Canucks, as well as the penalty kill.
What Vancouver Gets
In the fantasy game, there isn't much that Suter brings to the table as a fantasy option. He has had very pedestrian shot rates at 5-on-5, and his best 5-on-5 production season on a per-minute basis was 2021-22, and it was in the bottom-half of the league. For his career, he's averaging less than a hit every two games, though he did reach two shots per game in his first two seasons when he was playing between 16-17 minutes a night. He is unlikely to earn that much ice time unless injuries hit some of Vancouver’s key players. If he can have a 35-point, 140-shot season, it would be a resounding success.
Where his fantasy impact will come into play is his penalty killing ability. HockeyViz grades his PK ability exceptionally well, and that's an area that decimated Vancouver's hopes of a playoff push in 2022-23. The team has shed a few players that really struggled when down a man, and the additions on the blue line, with Suter up front, should change those fortunes.
In that sense, Suter's biggest fantasy contributions will come via the penalty kill, and its value conferred to Thatcher Demko. Having a much better penalty killing group in front of him will help his fantasy value and that is why Suter might be a very important signing for Demko and the team.
This signing will cut into the value of Sheldon Dries, who may have had some multi-cat appeal in deeper formats. The same could be said of fellow offseason signee Teddy Blueger, and prospect Aatu Raty. It should not impact their top forwards but if it does, something has gone terribly wrong with the Vancouver season.
Who This Helps
Spencer Martin
Who This Hurts
Sheldon Dries
Nils Aman
Aatu Raty
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